The Remote Seduction Page 5

  Katrina makes it out of the woods, darts across the street and runs down another side street.

  Sully is closing in on her, the agent is now with him. They cross the street and run down the same side street that Katrina chose.

  Katrina reaches an intersection. She picks another street to run down.

  Sully reaches the same intersection. He didn't see which direction Katrina went.

  “You go that way,” Sully tells the agent, pointing in one direction. The agent hurries down the street. Sully chooses the street Katrina chose. He runs down it.

  Katrina keeps running at top speed, she’s in excellent shape and not nearing fatigue. Her running is taking her into a more seedy side of town. The lights are less frequent, the streets are narrowing, and the vibe is unsettling.

  She turns down another street and reaches a dive bar, a dead end and an alley. She runs into the dive bar.

  Inside the dive bar…

  The gang playing pool and drinking booze does not look all that friendly. The aging hooker does. The hooker looks at Katrina; she can see in Katrina's eyes and by Katrina’s demeanor that something is seriously wrong.

  Outside of the dive bar…

  Moments later Sully runs down the same street Katrina had run down. He looks around. He sees the alley and the dive bar. He decides to check out the bar. Sully goes inside.

  Inside the dive bar…

  Sully looks around. No sign of Katrina. The gang looks meaner, like they're ready to tear Sully apart. The hooker rubs up against Sully.

  “Wanna buy me a drink?” She drawls seductively.

  “I'm looking for someone,” Sully tells her.

  “I can be that someone,” the hooker flirts.

  “Not interested thanks,” Sully says politely, and then he leaves the bar. Once gone, Katrina comes out from hiding behind a couple of big, scary bikers.

  “Thanks,” Katrina whispers with heartfelt gratitude.

  “Let me buy you a drink,” the hooker responds with kindness.

  Katrina has a seat at the bar, her back to the door. “I could really go for something with tons of caffeine, sugar and ice.”

  “Rough night?” The hooker figures.

  “Too many shots. Too many lies.”

  “Honey, that's my Friday night,” the hooker quips.

  The door opens and a man enters. The hooker sees him and coos. “Now if that ain't easy on the eyes.”

  It's Felix. Oozing as much sex appeal as he did when he was getting out of the pool. His dark, gloriously fitted clothes and smoldering expression only add to his sultry mystery.

  He takes a seat next to Katrina. Now she finally looks up and looks at the man who just took a seat next to her. Their eyes lock - another intense connection like the one they had in the bookstore. A connection that could stay linked forever, or until someone breaks the gaze. Which Felix does, reluctantly.

  “Good evening, ladies,” he says, his voice strong and sure, soft and seductive.

  “Hiya, heartthrob,” the hooker flirts.

  “You were in my store earlier,” Katrina manages to say, her cheeks burning from the heat Felix is radiating in her direction. She’s not sure if she’s more overwhelmed at seeing him or what has happened this evening, but one thing she does know deep inside, as her eyes lock with Felix’s, is that her brief moment with this stranger earlier today was more genuine and real than her entire night with Sully.

  “I was,” he smiles tenderly at her. There’s a bit of a flush in his cheeks as he remembers the encounter.

  “Have you been following me?” She asks, completely confused by all of the beleaguering events of the day.

  “Indirectly. I was following Walter. He was following you,” Felix explains.

  “Who are you?” Katrina asks.

  “I'm the one they want you to steal from,” His gaze intensifies. “Would you like a ride?”

  The hooker interjects before Katrina has a chance to answer. “You'd be a fool not to take it, honey.”

  Outside of the dive bar…

  Felix and Katrina head for a limo parked in front.

  Sigmund opens the door for Felix and Katrina. Katrina hesitates before getting into the car.

  “I am Felix Russo, this is my associate. Sigmund gives Katrina a kind, fatherly smile. We will bring you home,” Felix says with so much warmth and honesty it melts away any bit of doubt she has. She gets into the limo, followed by Felix.

  *****

  Inside the limo…

  There's a high tech computer and surveillance system set up in the back leaving only a small section of seat available for Katrina and Felix forcing them to sit very close to each other.

  Felix looks at the surveillance images on a monitor. “Walter, his two agents and Sullivan are only a couple of blocks away,” Felix tells Katrina.

  Katrina looks worried. She so does not want to deal with them, or ever see them again.

  Felix surmises what she’s thinking. “We will elude them this evening but you are going to have to face them. Seeing as their plan failed, they will pursue another course of action."

  “Get me into bed was the big plan?” Katrina asks trying hard to camouflage her hurt.

  “Seduction is a very successful form of gaining cooperation,” Felix explains.

  “My logical side of the brain can understand that, but to deliberately pretend to be someone you're not…” Katrina’s voice quivers slightly.

  “All a part of the ruse, a part of the game,” Felix says matter of factly. “One of many reasons why I got out of the game.”

  “There's a whole other level of it in this case. He picked someone that I cherish with every fiber of my being to impersonate, he picked Paolo.” Why she’s sharing this with this mysterious man is beyond all logic to Katrina. Her eyes well and she looks away, taking a deep breath in order to regain her composure.

  Katrina, in the midst of trying to focus herself, hasn’t noticed that Felix turned his attention away from her. He’s hiding his reaction from her not wanting her to see the profound effect the Paolo comment has had on him. There’s fury and pain in his eyes. He’s not only upset that his beloved Francesca has been hurt so deeply but that their extraordinary relationship was the inspiration for the ruse.

  Felix regains his focused demeanor at the same time Katrina does. “Trust me, the seduction game plan is far less harmful than the other route they take,” Felix advises, now back on track.

  “Which is?” She asks.

  “Threats, torture and intimidation. Which will not be done to you, they will chose someone you love.”

  “I can't believe that,” Katrina gasps. She doesn’t want to believe that.

  “Several hours ago would you have been willing to believe that you are where you are at this very moment?”

  “Point taken,” Katrina smiles warmly. A sight that is music to Felix’s soul.

  “What is it exactly that they want me to steal from you?” Katrina wants to know.

  “A remote control. The most valuable remote in the world. It can deactivate or activate any numerical code, alarm or security system. I created it when I was working at the FSSU.”

  “The FSSU?”

  “The Federal Strategic Security Unit. It's a ghost organization. They can get away with pretty much anything they want to.”

  “Why did you steal it?”

  “I didn't appreciate their ‘for profit’ use of the gadget. The first time they tested it, they activated a scud missile that they sold to a militia group. The resulting blast killed ten innocent people, four of them children under the age of six, in an apartment building next to the bunker that they blew up.”

  “Oh geeze.” Katrina sighs, saddened by that news.

  The limo makes a turn that causes Katrina to lean closer into Felix. The innocent touch of their bodies sends such intense shockwaves through both of them that they can feel each other’s energy.

  Katrina shakes the sensations from her thoughts and focuses on
the conversation. “Why are you helping me if I’m supposed to be the one who steals the remote from you? She asks a bit breathlessly.

  “Because I want you to steal it from me. You impress and fascinate me.”

  “You want me to steal the remote and give it back to those bastards at the FSSU so they can kill more innocent people because I fascinate you?”

  “When I left with the remote I promised my boss that should anyone ever make it through the ten levels of Hacker Heaven I would give him the opportunity to retrieve the remote. I am a man of my word.”

  “Why would you offer that?”

  “In all honesty I never imagined anyone would make it through the ten levels. That was an extraordinary accomplishment. Over one hundred of the world’s top hackers attempted to make it through all ten levels. No one made it. Until you.” Felix’s eyes focus on Katrina as he says ‘until you,’ which were words Francesca cyber texted to Paolo in one of their last exchanges. “Stealing the remote back will be a similar challenge to Hacker Heaven. Are you up for such a challenge?” His gaze is encouraging, inviting.

  “I am, but I don’t want to return the remote to the FSSU.”

  “I don’t want that either. I was a master chess player in school. The game taught me how to read my opponent and not only anticipate his next move, but his next several moves. I believe I know my ex bosses well enough to anticipate their next several moves.”

  “Is that cryptic for trust me, all will work out?” Katrina asks suspiciously, with a bit of twinkle in her eyes. A twinkle that invites Felix to gaze into her eyes.

  They lock eyes again, which charges a similar connection to the one they had in the bookstore. For a very long moment they are both lost in each other.

  As their eyes are locked, Felix asks softly and seductively, “At this very moment, what do you see Katrina? What do you feel? Do you feel trust?”

  She does, his soul has reached her and without words or explanation, only feeling, she knows that she indeed does and will trust him. “Yes,” she responds, not breaking their gaze or their intense connection.

  With pure sincerity and heartfelt concern Felix tells her, “I am deeply sorry, and troubled, that you have been used as a pawn in this. If you have faith in what is here at this very moment, then you will see as this match plays out that the events from this past year, starting with my theft of the remote, will have all been serendipitous.”

  He takes her hand in his, a simple gesture packing in a world of intense feelings and exquisite sensations. They linger in their moment, neither one wanting to break it. Time is irrelevant to both of them as their eyes and hands stay connected.

  Sigmund breaks the moment. We’ll be arriving at the bookstore shortly, sir,” he tells Felix.

  “Where is the remote?” Katrina asks, returning the attention back the match.

  “That's for you to discover,” Felix answers giving her a devilish smile.

  “And how am I supposed to do that?” She quips off of his smile.

  “I've recently updated Hacker Heaven and encoded a clue in each one of the levels. If you can put the clues together, the location of where the remote is sequestered will be revealed to you.” Felix hands a disc to Katrina. “Here is the newly encoded version of Hacker Heaven. This version is secure, they will not be able to trace it. I've also installed a firewall, which will protect your computer from their surveillance. I must warn you there will be risk involved in stealing back the remote.”

  “You must assume I can handle it, I don’t think you’d put me in harms way unless you were sure of the moves.”

  Felix squeezes her hand in response, giving her a warm, tender, reassuring smile.

  *****

  The limo pulls up and idles in front of the Chick Lit Bookstore.

  Sigmund opens the door for Felix and Katrina. They both get out. Felix takes Katrina's hand and kisses it, very European princely. His lips linger on her skin sending erotic chills to ever cell in her body. “It has been a pleasure, Katrina Brice.”

  Felix gets back into the limo as Katrina enters the store. Felix and Sigmund make sure she is securely in the store before driving away.

  Inside the store…

  Katrina locks the door behind her. She grabs her laptop and hurries upstairs to her apartment. Her apartment is artist shabby chic in its decor, creatively stylish and inviting like a cafe in Notting Hill.

  She places the laptop on her bed. As she heads to the bathroom she disrobes. She hops in the shower, blasts the warm water, and has a good cry trying to wash most of the night off of her.

  Moments later, Katrina, dressed in pajamas, turns off the lights and takes a seat on her bed.

  She powers up her laptop. Curious, she looks to see if there are any messages from Paolo - there are none. She’s both relieved and heartbroken. She so desperately wants the comfort from her most treasured and trusted relationship, but then again, since their cyber connection has been breached, she can no longer trust that interaction, a thought that brings more tears to her eyes.

  She inserts the Hacker Heaven disc. The first image reads: For Katrina - Level One.

  *****

  The next morning, two dark SUVs with tinted windows drive down the street and park near the bookstore - just in time to see Katrina unlocking the front door. She sees the SUVs and knows she’ll have company momentarily.

  She takes a deep breath, readying herself. She places the Open sign in the window and then with a cup of tea in hand, takes a seat in one of the chairs by the window and waits. On the table next to her is her opened laptop. She looks determined and ready to take on the bastards.

  Sully, Walter, Richard and two armed agents enter the store. Sully's a wreck, still in the clothes from last night, scruffy face and blurry eyes. Katrina doesn't move, she calmly sips her tea.

  “How did you get home? Are you all right? I've been worried sick about you, Katrina.” Sully says unable to control his emotions.

  “Don't you mean Francesca?” Katrina coolly asks.

  “That was so low of us, I know, but I had no choice,” he attempts to explain, feebly.

  Katrina directs her attention to Richard. “We all have choices. Isn't that right Mr. Karn?”

  “You caught us, Miss Brice,” Richard smirks. “Bully for you.”

  “I advise you all to make sure you get your lies straight because I'm a bit more informed about the remote control proceedings than I was last night.”

  “What's that supposed to mean?” Walter growls.

  “Informed enough to wonder what would happen if my choice was to not help you.” Katrina proffers.

  “That would be a tragic choice,” Richard responds. He hands Katrina a surveillance photo of Dorothy. “Should you retrieve the remote for us, we will pay off all of your friend's medical expenses, which to date tallies four hundred sixty three thousand dollars and some odd change.”

  “Let's say I chose not to,” Katrina baits Richard.

  “We do have the power to make it appear as if the cancer has returned, this time proving fatal,” Richard warns.

  Walter hands a photo of Maya to Katrina. “Or maybe an accident will befall her fiancée,” Walter adds.

  “I've got to admire Felix for stealing the remote and walking out on you bastards.” Katrina quips.

  This comment riles both Richard and Walter. Sully finds it curious, how does she know about Felix.

  Felix's image appears on Katrina's open laptop. “Did I hear my name?” Felix asks in Skyping mode.

  “You did. Good-morning, Felix,” Katrina smiles warmly at him. She instantly gains confidence, assurance and comfort from his presence, even if his presence is just via a computer screen. Sully notices.

  “Good morning, Katrina,” Felix responds, his eyes locking with hers, another connection that is damn hard not to ignite when their eyes are involved. Sully notices as well and it looks like his world is shattering.

  Richard motions to his agents, mouthing to them to trace the feed
.

  Felix turns his attention to Richard. “Don't bother tracing the feed, Richard, we all know that I'm smart enough to reroute the location.”

  “What the hell is going on here?!” Richard hollers.

  “I've discovered where Felix has sequestered the remote,” Katrina casually shares. She looks at Felix, a bright smile growing until it reaches her eyes. The smile is clearly meant for Felix, which he is indeed relishing. Sully paces, he’s anxious, how could everything fall so far apart in his world? That smile should be directed at him and it was barely twelve hours ago.

  “Brilliant, by the way,” Katrina tells Felix.

  “Thank you,” he flirts as if no one else were in the room with them.

  “What did you do?” Richard demands to know.

  “I inserted some codes into Hacker Heaven, codes that once discovered would lead to the remote's location,” Felix shares.

  “And I broke the codes,” Katrina beams, quite proud of herself, she shares another look with Felix. Even though he’s communicating via Skype the energy between them ignites both real space and cyberspace.

  Katrina, without any expression, acknowledges Sully. “Maybe now you can figure out how I got home last night.”

  “Please don't let what happened harden you,” Sully pleads. “What I did, what we did, truly meant something.

  Katrina ignores the second part of Sully’s pleas. “It hasn't hardened me, it's made me stronger,” she answers with confidence and not an ounce of resentment or anger. She addresses his second part of his pleas with gentleness. “If what happened had any meaning at all, it was because in my heart, I was with Paolo, not you.”

  This comment shoots a dagger to Sully’s very core, nearly knocking the wind out of him. But Felix, on the computer screen, the comment touches his very being and he fights hard to control his emotions so as not to be exposed or shown to be vulnerable.

  “Enough with the tween romance shit. Are you going to get the remote for us?” Richard snarls.

  Katrina looks at the photos of her friends. “I really have no choice, do I.”

  Katrina stares down Walter, Richard and Sully. “Once I have retrieved the remote for you I never want to hear from anyone employed by the FSSU ever again. Should you try to bully me again I will sing to every major news outlet and I will be doing the singing with concrete evidence that I have collected against you. Evidence that will go viral. Now get the hell out of my store.”